He Won’t Stay for the Count
Sean Wacker from Long Island received a daunting prognosis of just three months to live after being diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, which had turned into a malignant brain tumor over the past decade.
“I had a massive stroke due to a tumor the size of a golf ball. There was this rare complication called periocranial disease, where cancer spreads into the spinal fluid,” he recounted, reflecting on one of the darkest moments of his life.
At 40 years old, Wacker, a passionate wrestling fan who played college football and lacrosse, was bracing himself for what he thought could be his final day.
He often recalled words from late sportscaster Stuart Scott, who passed away from appendix cancer in 2015. Scott’s quote goes, “When you die, that doesn’t mean you’ll lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live.” For Wacker, now a married father of two daughters, quality of life has become his main focus.
“I’ve been living for twelve weeks when I was told I might have only that long, and here I am, coming up on nine years,” Wacker noted about his unexpected recovery.
He holds a unique distinction of being mentioned in several medical journals as the sole documented case of a complete reversal of perforerodermal disease.
Wacker’s fierce battle with cancer followed a phase where he had been temporarily paralyzed due to an accident at work.
“I’ve truly experienced more in the past nine years than I did in the first 31,” he expressed.
Stand Up from the Mat
During months of being bedridden, his love for wrestling was reignited while watching WWE and listening to related podcasts. “It really helped me get through everything,” he shared.
Now, stepping back into the wrestling ring symbolizes the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Wacker. In high school, he had secretly pursued professional wrestling until his father discovered his passion and pushed him to focus elsewhere.
Faced with ranging choices—whether to keep wrestling or maintain stability at home—he opted to step back from the sport to support his family. In 2010, he tried to return to wrestling but was sidelined by a construction accident.
After triumphing over cancer, he rang the bell in 2022 at Memorial Sloan Kettering. His latest charity match aims to support pediatric patients at the center.
His daughter, expressing a wish to see him wrestle, prompted his return: “Daddy, I couldn’t see you wrestling last summer.” Wacker’s wife urged him to go for it, which led him to organize another charity event for St. Jude’s.
“I went back to the ring and trained for four months and put together a fantastic tag team match,” Wacker described.
Known in the wrestling world by the name “Cancer Fighter,” Wacker is now sharing his uplifting story through wrestling.
Recently, in the summer of 2024, WWE reached out to him, allowing him to dress as a NYPD officer alongside other wrestlers in a match at Madison Square Garden. “I was in the garage at 1 AM the night before and started crying. This is something I’ve wanted since I was a kid, and it hit me hard thinking about my journey these past nine years,” he said.
Although he had aspirations to continue wrestling following his WWE debut, a concussion and a return of his cancer, which is currently in remission, led him to take a step back, instead focusing on his role in the front office.
Wacker has now signed on to become the operational director of the New York Dragons arena football team, a franchise that had previously folded in the mid-2000s.
One of the most meaningful aspects of his journey, Wacker shared, is the messages he receives. “I get people telling me, ‘If I hadn’t seen you, I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.’” He continues to relive his toughest days battling cancer because he believes that reaching out to others makes it all worthwhile.
